The Value Creation Potential of Digital Twins

Thesis (BA/MA)

Advisor(s): Kim Krüger

Context

Digital twins, essentially virtual replicas of physical entities, are revolutionizing industries by providing a dynamic, real-time representation of physical assets, systems, or processes. These advanced simulations, combined with related technologies such as IoT and AI, enable enhanced monitoring, predictive maintenance, and optimization, leading to significant improvements in operational efficiency, cost savings, and innovation.

As digital twins become more sophisticated and integrated, their impact on various sectors, from manufacturing and healthcare to smart cities and energy management, is profound and far-reaching. Understanding how digital twins can drive value creation across different sectors and business models remains an ongoing research imperative. By examining case studies and real-world applications, this research aims to uncover how companies are leveraging digital twins to gain competitive advantages, improve efficiencies, and drive value creation.

The goal of this thesis is to integrate perspectives from information systems, organizational theory, digital innovation, and data ecosystems, to provide comprehensive insights into the value creation potential of digital twins. The findings aim to contribute to the responsible and effective deployment of digital twins across various sectors, offering practical recommendations for businesses looking to harness the power of this transformative technology.

Potential Research Questions:

  • How do digital twins transform traditional business models and create new revenue streams across different industries?
  • What are the key factors that determine the successful implementation of digital twins in enhancing operational efficiency.
  • How can predictive maintenance enabled by digital twins improve the longevity and reliability of physical assets?
  • How can data ecosystems be leveraged to enhance data-driven collaboration, integration, and adoption of digital twins within and across organizations?
  • What new forms of business-to-customer and business-to-business interactions are enabled by digital twins? What opportunities and challenges do they present?

Tasks

  • Literature review on digital twins and related topics
  • Collect data from interviews, case studies, or surveys
  • Analyze data through qualitative or quantitative methods
  • Discuss findings and derive practical guidelines

Requirements

  • Interest in current topics of digital twins and relating technologies, their associated business models, and supporting data ecosystems
  • High degree of autonomy and individual responsibility
  • Above-average grades or other qualifications
  • Structured, reliable, and self-motivated work style

Further Information

The topic can be adapted according to your interests. The thesis can be written in English or German. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact me directly. Please send your application, including our application form, "Notenauszug" from TUMonline, and CV to kim.krueger@tum.de. Please note that we can only consider applications with complete documents.